Dr. Popal, an Afghan veterinarian, asks ranch hand Marc Miller to explain how his spurs work at the Weaver 4 Ranch west of Wellington.Popal is one of six Afghan veterinarians studying goat farming and other ag operations in Colorado.

FORT COLLINS — If the United States really wants to stabilize Afghanistan, say six Afghans visiting Colorado farms, then it should focus more on building agricultural options beyond the illicit drug trade for the war-torn nation’s mostly agrarian people.

“If we keep people busy in agriculture, that will be good for security,” said Abdul, a veterinarian from northern Afghanistan.

(The Afghans’ surnames were withheld to protect them against possible threats.)

“We have a lot of land that is not used for drugs. We have no water to irrigate that land,” Abdul said. “If our agriculture is supported by the United States — if we can have a good irrigation system — this could be good land and a lot of people could get jobs.”

U.S. agriculture officials brought the six Afghan veterinarians to Colorado for a month as part of nonmilitary efforts begun during the war that was launched shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks. Retired Colorado State University professors have escorted the six to farms, feedlots, research stations and clinics.

“We know some of the reason some people are fighting with the Taliban is partly a money issue,” said Otto Gonzalez, senior agricultural adviser to Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Gonzalez greeted the veterinarians in Washington, D.C., before they headed to Colorado.

Instead of relying solely on military action, U.S. officials aim to “improve the livestock and crop production,” which can increase income for villagers who otherwise grow opium poppies, Gonzalez said.

“We want to have a situation where our involvement in security is no longer necessary. To get there, we have to do development of the agricultural sector,” Gonzalez said.

Trained at Kabul University, the veterinarians are leading national livestock projects, including an emerging cashmere goat industry. Relying on U.S. and European support, the veterinarians trained 150,000 farmers to cut and comb cashmere fibers from goats.

Production increased to 6 metric tons last year and is expected to top 50 tons this year, said Mohamad, 40, a Kabul-based leader of the program.

If diseases can be controlled, the cashmere industry could expand, with weaving facilities set up in towns, Mohamad said.

“Husbands are happy because their wives are helping them with the combing,” he said.

Historically, Afghan farmers discarded the cashmere fibers as worthless after shearing their goats.

Earnings from sales to Europe are invested in veterinary services, aimed at increasing their quality and quantity.

CSU emeritus professors Bill Spencer and Dan Hilleman are guiding the group. The visitors will shadow local veterinarians. They toured a cattle feedlot, a bio-security lab, and several farms and ranches.

Colorado producers indicated they follow war news carefully and were eager to support any U.S. effort to improve the situation abroad.

More support for Afghanistan’s agriculture “makes sense to me. Pick ’em up so they can support themselves,” said Adrian Weaver, 81, who owns an Angus cattle ranch and also runs herds of goats.

At the Centennial Livestock Auction in Fort Collins, the group spotted Afghan immigrant Mohammad Besharat in the Larimer County crowd bidding on sheep and goats.

He recounted his trek from Afghanistan 16 years ago, after the Soviet occupation ended in 1989 and before the worst of a long civil war. Now, he runs halal meat enterprises serving a growing market along Colorado’s Front Range. Halal meat has been slaughtered in a traditional Islamic way.

The visitors were delighted to find a countryman who could help them understand the auction’s rapid-fire bidding and pricing.

Despite the prospect of greater prosperity in other countries, the veterinarians said they’re still determined to stay in Afghanistan and work through the turmoil.

“I couldn’t leave and go to another country,” Abdul said. “I love it because I was born there.”

Bruce Finley covers environment issues, the land air and water struggles shaping Colorado and the West. Finley grew up in Colorado, graduated from Stanford, then earned masters degrees in international relations as a Fulbright scholar in Britain and in journalism at Northwestern. He is also a lawyer and previously handled international news with on-site reporting in 40 countries.

The Larimer County coroner on Sunday performed an autopsy on the body found on a farm just east of Loveland Saturday, but the office will not release the cause of death or the identity of the person until they can track down next of kin.